Race track toy

ABSTRACT

A RACE TRACK TOY IN WHICH ONE OR MORE RACING CARS ARE DRIVEN AROUND A TRACK IN THE NATURE OF A FLAT BOARD HAVING CONTINUOUS GROOVES THEREIN. THE CARS ARE SHIFTED FROM GROOVE TO GROOVE AT INTERSECTIONS IN THE GROOVLES BY REASON OF A SWITCHING WHEEL CARRIED AT THE FRONT OF EACH CAR. THE SWITCHING WHEEL IS ASYMMETRIC AND WILL DIRECT THE CAR INTO WHICHEVER GROOVE HAPPENS TO COINCIDE WITH THE DISPOSITION OF THE WHEEL AS IT ENTERS THE INTERSECTION. THE OPERATOR THEREFORE HAS NO CONTROL OVER THE CARS IN THEIR TRAVEL OVER THE BOARD.

June 15, 1971 G. J. LALONDE 3,584,410

RACE TRACK TOY Filed 001.. 9, 1969 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 F/G. 2 P76. 5

Adam/70, 50 [,4 [04/045 June 15, 1971 LALONDE 3,584,410

RACE TRACK TOY Filed Oct. 9, 1969 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 M 37 W15? 56 F- 37 VIIAI III ,4;- ro M: r

3,584,410 RACE TRACK TOY Guy John Lalonde, 145 Miriam St., Bethpage, N.Y. 11714 Filed Oct. 9, 1969, Ser. No. 865,134 Int. Cl. A63h 33/26 U.S. Cl. 46-238 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A race track toy in which one or more racing cars are driven around a track in the nature of a flat board having continuous grooves therein. The cars are shifted from groove to groove at intersections in the grooves by reason of a switching wheel carried at the front of each car. The switching wheel is asymmetric and will direct the car into whichever groove happens to coincide with the disposition of the wheel as it enters the intersection. The operator therefore has no control over the cars in their travel over the board.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION It is well known to provide race track toys in which the cars are propelled around a board simulating a race track in various tracks or grooves. Such toys frequently have switching means which can either be preset by the operator or are responsive to controls of the operator. Such devices often cause children to lose interest because of the limited performance of the toy and the lack of any element of surprise.

The present invention provides a race track toy in which the propelled cars switch from track to track with out any direction from the operator and, in the case of a plurality of cars being run at the same time over the track, with many unexpected turns often resulting in narrow misses between the cars.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In one particular embodiment of the invention, a fiat board is provided with a plurality of track-like grooves running continuously around the surface of the board. Small battery driven cars are propelled across the board in the well known manner with a small switching wheel located at the front of the car travelling within the track. The grooves of the track intersect one another at various points and by reason of the asymmetric configuration of the switching wheel, the cars will veer into one or another of the tracks at the intersections depending upon the particular disposition of the switching wheel at that juncture.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof corresponding elements have been given identical reference numerals, in which drawings:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a complete embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view in front elevation of a racing car and switching wheel made in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a view in front elevation on an enlarged scale showing the switching wheel illustrated in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a view in front elevation of the switching wheel member disposed in the board track.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view on an enlarged scale showing an intersection in the track illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a view in side elevation of the racing car used in the present device with the body shown in dashed lines.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary view in front elevation of a United States Patent O ice switching wheel according to the present invention illustrating a second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a view in side elevation of the switching wheel assembly shown in FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary top plan view somewhat enlarged illustrating the manner in which the switching wheel of the car guides it from one track into another.

FIG. 10 is a top plan fragmentary view of two elements which are to be joined together to form the race track over which the cars are driven.

FIG. 11 is a somewhat isometric view of a locking key used to tie the members forming the race track together.

FIG. 12 is a fragmentary view taken on lines 1212 of FIG. 10 looking in the direction of the arrows.

FIG. 13 is a view similar to FIG. 12 in the assembled condition.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings, 10 indicates a flat board made of some suitable rigid material, such as linoleum, vinyl, plywood or the like. The board can be formed of a plurality of members 11 secured together at their adjoining edges 12 by means of clips 13 hereinafter more fully described.

A series of continuous grooves 14 are cut into the surface of the board 10 to form a guide track for the cars. The grooves 14 are preferably V shaped as shown in FIG. 2 and are adapted to receive a small vehicle switching wheel 15 best shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The switching wheel 15 is loosely carried by an axle 48 supported by a bracket 16 freely journaled at the front of the toy automobile 17. The switching wheel 15 is tapered on each side of a peripheral rim 47 as best s hown in FIGS. 3 and 4. However, the tapers 18, 19, are not symmetrical about the rim 47. As a result, the switching wheel 15 will wobble upon its axle 20, which axle is loosely carried within the bracket 21 of the switching wheel assembly. The action of the switching wheel 15 is shown in a somewhat exaggerated manner by the dashed lines in FIG. 3.

The top of the bracket 21 is provided with a small stud 22 which is journaled within the body 23 of the toy car 17. A small coil spring 24 is disposed between the top of the bracket 21 and body of the car 23 to urge the wheel 15 against the sides of the track 14.

The front wheels 24 of the toy vehicle ride upon the board 10 on either side of the track 14. The front wheels 24 are made of some suitable plastic which will enable the wheels 24 to slide laterally without great difficulty as the car 17 is switched from track to track. As shown in FIG. 6, the car 17 is preferably driven by means of a motor 25 having a battery 26 as a source of power supply. In this manner, the car 17 is self contained and does not rely upon exterior power sources for propulsion. Nevertheless, it is within the purview of the present invention to use the well known electric train driving mechanism well known in the art.

With the board 10 assembled in the manner shown in FIG. 1, one or more cars 17 can be placed upon the board 10 with their switching wheels 15 within one of the grooves 14. The cars will be propelled across the board by the operation of their motors 25 connected to the rear wheels 27. When the car 17 reaches an intersection, such as the one indicated at 28 in FIG. 1, the car will either continue in the direction in which it was proceeding or will veer off in another direction, depending upon the disposition of the switching wheel 15 at that juncture. If the switching wheel is skewed in one direction, the car will make the appropriate turn. If, in its rotation, the switching wheel is in another position, the

car will be guided accordingly. In this manner, it is impossible for the child playing with the toy to determine in advance the course it will take when it reaches an intersection. Where two or more cars are running around tracks on the same board, they will often have narrow misses or may even collide depending upon the operation of the switching wheels 15 as the respective cars reach the various intersections.

Another way in which the toy can be used is to provide one or more garages 29 located at the terminus of one or more tracks. The child can then compete with other children to see which car will enter the garage first. Various other interesting games can be built around this apparatus, which may involve substituting toy horses for cars or even airplanes.

FIG. illustrates, on an enlarged scale, the possible courses the car may take when it reaches an intersection 30. As the switching wheel 15 reaches the point 31 it will either be in the upright position shown in FIG. 4, the skew to the left position shown in FIG. 3, or the skew to the right position shown in FIG. 3 in dashed lines. If upright, the switching wheel 15 will guide the car 17 in a straight path. If skewed to the right the car will follow one of the diverging tracks and if skewed to the left it will follow the opposite track.

Referring to FIGS. 7, 8 and 9, there is shown a second embodiment of the present invention in which the switching wheel 15A is symmetrical about its periphery 47 so that it is in the shape of two frusto conical sections secured together at their large bases. In this embodiment, two rims 32, 33 are secured on each side of the wheel 15A." A small permanent magnet 34, 35, is glued to each of the rims 32, 33. The magnets 34, 35, are 180 apart on the rims as shown in FIG. 7. Small permanent magnets or ferrous blocks 36, 37, are pressed into the board 10 on each side of the track 14. The permanent magnets 36, 37, are so disposed at the intersections of the tracks 14 that the wheel 15A will be skewed in the direction where the permanent magnet 34, 35, comes into close proximity with a board magnet or ferrous blocks 36 or 37. Here again, the direction which the car takes as a result of the magnetic action is not under the control of the operator and therefore provides an element of surprise.

FIGS. 10 thru 13 illustrates the manner in which a large board track can be assembled without requiring complicated fastening devices to provide a smooth surface over which the cars can operate. As shown in FIG. 10, the board elements 11 are provided with a series of alternating bevels 38, 39, which abutt complimentary bevels in the next adjacent board element. When the edges of the board elements 1 1 are brought into abuttment as shown in FIG. 13 a smooth top surface 40 is presented by the dove tailing of the bevels 38, 39. The board elements 11 are provided with opposed slots 41, which are cut through the board 11 at a point spaced from the track 14. Small shaped clips 13 (best shown in FIG. 11), which may substantially H shaped and which have depending detents 43 are pressed into the slots 41 after the elements 11 are brought into abutting relationship. The clips 13 prevent lateral movement of the elements 11 so that the board remains attached at all times during use.

Having thus fully described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patents of the United States, is:

1. A race track toy comprising a horizontally disposed board, a plurality of elongated intersecting grooves in said board forming a track, wheeled toy car members receivable upon the grooved board surface, a switching wheel on said car, an axle for said switching wheel, said wheel being loosely carried upon said axle whereby the wheel may skew during its rotation, means to drive the car about the board while the switching wheel rides within the track and means to skew the switching wheel at the intersections of the grooves to change the direction of the cars.

2. A toy according to claim 1 in which the elongated grooves are V shaped in cross section and the periphery of the switching wheel is beveled to conform to the groove shape.

3. A toy according to claim 2 in which the switching wheel is asymmetrically beveled about its periphery whereby the wheel will skew from side to side as it rolls within the grooves.

4. A toy according to claim 2 in which the switching wheel is mounted at the front of the toy car between the toy car wheels and the car is self propelled.

5. A toy according to claim 2 in which the switching wheel is symmetrical about its periphery and provided with magnets on each side thereof and the board is provided with magnets adjacent the track intersections whereby the switching wheel is caused to skew as it reaches the said intersection.

6. A toy according to claim 2 in which the switching wheel is symmetrical about its periphery and provided with magnets on each side thereof and the board is provided with ferrous blocks adjacent the track intersections whereby the switching wheel is caused to skew as it reaches the said intersection.

7. A toy according to claim 5 in which the wheel magnets are mounted apart and the board magnets are disposed on opposite sides of the groove intersections.

8. A toy according to claim 1 in which the board is made up of a plurality of fiat elements having alternate complimentary bevels along their periphery edges and clip members bridging the abutting edges to prevent separation of the flat elements.

9. A toy according to claim :8 in which the fiat elements are slotted to receive the clip members and the clip members are formed with depending detents to en gage the slots in abutting elements.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,068,403 1/1937 Ekstrom 46-213X 3,016,024 l/l962 Silver 46-201X 3,402,503 9/1968 Glass et al. 46-202X LOUIS G. MANCENE, Primary Examiner R. F. CUTTING, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

